Snider helps Blue Jays top Indians

7/8/2011
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Blue Jays' Rajai Davis (11) crosses the plate in front of the throw to Indians catcher Lou Marson in the sixth inning
The Blue Jays' Rajai Davis (11) crosses the plate in front of the throw to Indians catcher Lou Marson in the sixth inning

CLEVELAND — Travis Snider drove in five runs and Rajai Davis knocked in four as the Toronto Blue Jays rebounded a day after a stunning loss to beat the Cleveland Indians 11-7 on Friday night.

Jo-Jo Reyes (4-7) pitched 5 2/3 shaky innings for his first win in his last four starts. He gave up three unearned runs, eight hits, and two walks without a strikeout as Cleveland left 12 men on base and couldn’t build momentum off its exciting win Thursday night on Travis Hafner’s walkoff grand slam.

Davis had a two-run single in the second and singled home a run in the fourth off Mitch Talbot (2-6). Snider’s two-run shot off Talbot in the sixth made it 7-2. He added a two-run double off the fence in center against Vinnie Pestano for an 11-6 lead.

Cleveland got within 9-6 in the eighth. Asdrubal Cabrera hit the fourth consecutive single off Shawn Camp to make it 9-4.

Jason Frasor came on to strike out Hafner on four pitches, dropping the slugger to 0 for 7 lifetime against the reliever. Travis Buck, however, lined a two-run double before Frasor got two outs to leave runners on second and third.

The AL Central-leading Indians went 6 for 22 with runners in scoring position. Edwin Encarnacion had four hits for the Blue Jays, who won for the fourth time in 12 games.

Talbot gave up 11 hits and eight runs over 5 1/3 innings. He is 0-5 in seven starts since winning in Toronto on May 31. The right-hander has been rocked for 27 runs in his last 24 2-3 innings, a 9.85 ERA.

Toronto took a 3-0 lead in the second, loading the bases on two singles around a walk.

One run scored on a groundout by Snider. Talbot struck out J.P. Arencibia, then yielded a two-run single to Davis.

Cleveland made it 3-2 in the bottom half after third baseman Jose Bautista’s throwing error opened the door. Jack Hannahan had an RBI single, the first of his three hits. Another run scored on a groundout by Michael Brantley, who had four hits.

Davis had an RBI single and scored from first on Yunel Escobar’s double to the wall in right in the fourth. In the sixth, Davis reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second. He also stole third and scored when third baseman Hannahan couldn’t handle the throw from catcher Lou Marson for an error.

Cleveland got within 8-3 in the sixth when first baseman Adam Lind misplayed a sharp grounder down the line by Hafner, scoring Brantley from second.

Octavio Dotel came on with runners on the corners and got out of it with a fine play by shortstop Escobar. Buck, pinch-hitting for Shelley Duncan, poked a ball between third and short. Escobar backhanded it as he skidded to a stop, then made a strong throw to first to end the brief rally.

Davis had an RBI double in the eighth for his second four-RBI game this season, one off his career best.

NOTES: Snider had five RBIs on Sept. 13, 2008, at Boston. ... Toronto manager John Farrell moved RHP Frank Francisco out of the closer’s role in favor of RHP Jon Rauch. Francisco allowed three runs without getting an out Thursday, then treated reporters rudely. He apologized Friday, saying: “I wasn’t happy with my results. I said things I wasn’t supposed to say. I was mad. That’s not an excuse.” ... Cleveland recalled INF Luis Valbuena from Triple-A Columbus, where he hit .313 with 56 RBIs in 77 games. ... RHP Zach McAllister, who made his major league debut Thursday, was sent back to Triple-A. ... The Indians hope to have 3B Lonnie Chisenhall back soon. The rookie sustained a broken nasal bone when hit by a pitch near his right cheek Thursday. Trainer Lonnie Soloff said Chisenhall should be available when swelling subsides around his right eye. ... Former Indians closer Mike Jackson, who had 94 saves for Cleveland in 1997-99, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.